"When I met him, he was honestly the sweetest, nicest person I talked to. He was really outgoing, a really funny guy. He had really good character."

She described Sharif as "a very gentle soul" who said he "loved kids."

"Just a typical young guy," Susan said. "He just hung around with us. He didn't talk about any religion or anything. He would just crack jokes. He was just a funny, outgoing guy."

'I don't think he's a terrorist'

Susan said she can't imagine her friend randomly attacking innocent people.

"I don't think he's a terrorist," she said. "I really don't."

CBC News has been told Sharif is being housed in the remand centre's mental health unit on what appears to be suicide watch.

But "he seemed like a pretty normal guy," Susan said. "It didn't seem like he had any mental illness."

Sharif shared some details about his past with her.

"He told me about Somalia," she said.

"He told me that it was pretty much being in war every day. That country was so bad, you'd walk down the streets and you'd see a dead person on the sidewalk," she said.

"He hated it there."

Susan said Sharif told her he decided to leave Somalia after he witnessed his friend's father shot in front of them.

According to American officials, Sharif walked into the United States on July 12, 2011, at a busy border crossing just south of San Diego. He would have been 24 years old at the time.

He came into Canada sometime in 2012 at an official port of entry. Canadian officials confirm Sharif went through the "regular process" and was granted refugee status later that year.

Susan said Sharif told her he liked living in Canada.

"He said that being in this country was really peaceful. He would rather be here than Somalia."

If Sharif is ultimately tried and convicted, he could face deportation back to Somalia after serving his sentence.